A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip-hop group formed in St. Albans, Queens, New York, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop music.
In 1991, the group released its jazz-influenced second album, The Low End Theory, regarded for helping shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s. In 1998 Read Full BioA Tribe Called Quest was an American hip-hop group formed in St. Albans, Queens, New York, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop music.
In 1991, the group released its jazz-influenced second album, The Low End Theory, regarded for helping shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s. In 1998, the group broke up shortly before releasing its fifth album, The Love Movement, but in 2006, the group's original members reunited and toured the United States. In 2016, the group released its sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, which was still incomplete when Phife Dawg died suddenly in March 2016, and was completed by the other members after his death. A Tribe Called Quest was the most commercially successful act in the Native Tongues collective, with all six of its albums certified either gold or platinum.
John Bush of AllMusic called them "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s." The Source gave the group's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990), a perfect rating of five 'mics,' marking the first time that the magazine awarded the rating. In 2005, A Tribe Called Quest received the Founders Award at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, and two years later, the group was honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors. In 2017, the group was awarded the Brit Award for International Group.
AllMusic critic John Bush called A Tribe Called Quest "without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s", further stating that the group "jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap." At a time when James Brown drum breaks and P-Funk basslines dominated hip hop production, the group successfully bridged the gap between jazz and hip hop, incorporating bebop and hard bop samples and recording with double bassist Ron Carter. The group's production influenced their contemporaries, thus changing the sound of hip hop; Dr. Dre produced his highly regarded debut The Chronic after being inspired by The Low End Theory, and Pete Rock stated, "There were times when I would walk into a record store and see Tip sitting on the floor with his glasses on, going through albums, looking for beats ... I was like, 'This guy is serious.' Being around [the group] made me step up and become even more serious than I was".
Lyrically, A Tribe Called Quest has been regarded for addressing many social issues through Q-Tip's philosophical viewpoints and Phife Dawg's everyman perspectives. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm influenced several hip hop artists; Scarface asserted that it "really made me want to rap", and Pharrell Williams expressed that it was "the turning point [which] made me see that music was art." Kierna Mayo, former editor-in-chief of Ebony, said that The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders "gave birth to neo-everything. ... That entire class of D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, and Lauryn Hill—and moving on to André 3000, Kanye West, and Talib Kweli—everything that is left of everything begins with Tribe." The group has also been credited for helping launch the solo careers of Busta Rhymes, J Dilla and Consequence.
The group was the subject of the acclaimed 2011 documentary film Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, directed by Michael Rapaport.
Studio albums
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990)
The Low End Theory (1991)
Midnight Marauders (1993)
Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996)
The Love Movement (1998)
We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
In 1991, the group released its jazz-influenced second album, The Low End Theory, regarded for helping shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s. In 1998 Read Full BioA Tribe Called Quest was an American hip-hop group formed in St. Albans, Queens, New York, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop music.
In 1991, the group released its jazz-influenced second album, The Low End Theory, regarded for helping shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s. In 1998, the group broke up shortly before releasing its fifth album, The Love Movement, but in 2006, the group's original members reunited and toured the United States. In 2016, the group released its sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, which was still incomplete when Phife Dawg died suddenly in March 2016, and was completed by the other members after his death. A Tribe Called Quest was the most commercially successful act in the Native Tongues collective, with all six of its albums certified either gold or platinum.
John Bush of AllMusic called them "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s." The Source gave the group's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990), a perfect rating of five 'mics,' marking the first time that the magazine awarded the rating. In 2005, A Tribe Called Quest received the Founders Award at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, and two years later, the group was honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors. In 2017, the group was awarded the Brit Award for International Group.
AllMusic critic John Bush called A Tribe Called Quest "without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s", further stating that the group "jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap." At a time when James Brown drum breaks and P-Funk basslines dominated hip hop production, the group successfully bridged the gap between jazz and hip hop, incorporating bebop and hard bop samples and recording with double bassist Ron Carter. The group's production influenced their contemporaries, thus changing the sound of hip hop; Dr. Dre produced his highly regarded debut The Chronic after being inspired by The Low End Theory, and Pete Rock stated, "There were times when I would walk into a record store and see Tip sitting on the floor with his glasses on, going through albums, looking for beats ... I was like, 'This guy is serious.' Being around [the group] made me step up and become even more serious than I was".
Lyrically, A Tribe Called Quest has been regarded for addressing many social issues through Q-Tip's philosophical viewpoints and Phife Dawg's everyman perspectives. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm influenced several hip hop artists; Scarface asserted that it "really made me want to rap", and Pharrell Williams expressed that it was "the turning point [which] made me see that music was art." Kierna Mayo, former editor-in-chief of Ebony, said that The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders "gave birth to neo-everything. ... That entire class of D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, and Lauryn Hill—and moving on to André 3000, Kanye West, and Talib Kweli—everything that is left of everything begins with Tribe." The group has also been credited for helping launch the solo careers of Busta Rhymes, J Dilla and Consequence.
The group was the subject of the acclaimed 2011 documentary film Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, directed by Michael Rapaport.
Studio albums
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990)
The Low End Theory (1991)
Midnight Marauders (1993)
Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996)
The Love Movement (1998)
We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
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Can I Kick It?
A Tribe Called Quest Lyrics
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Well, I'm gone (go on then)
Can I kick it? To all the people who can Quest like A Tribe does
Before this, did you really know what live was?
Comprehend to the track, for it's why, cuz
Getting measures on the tip of the vibers
Rock and roll to the beat of the funk fuzz
Wipe your feet really good on the rhythm rug
If you feel the urge to freak, do the jitterbug
Come and spread your arms if you really need a hug
Afrocentric living is a big shrug
A life filled with (fun) that's what I love
A lower plateau is what we're above
If you diss us, we won't even think of
Will Nipper the doggy give a big shove?
This rhythm really fits like a snug glove
Like a box of positives is a plus, love
As the Tribe flies high like a dove
(Can I kick it?)
(Can I kick it?)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Can I kick it? (yes, you can)
Well, I'm gone (go on then)
Can I kick it? To my Tribe that flows in layers
Right now, Phife is a poem sayer
At times, I'm a studio conveyor
Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor?
You'll be doing us a really big favor
Boy, this track really has a lot of flavor
When it comes to rhythms, Quest is your savior
Follow us for the funky behavior
Make a note on the rhythm we gave ya
Feel free, drop your pants, check your hair
Do you like the garments that we wear?
I instruct you to be the obeyer
A rhythm recipe that you'll savor
Doesn't matter if you're minor or major
Yes, the Tribe of the game, rhythm player
As you inhale like a breath of fresh air
(Can I kick it?)
(Can I kick it?)
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Lou Reed, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jonathan Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Popu _GTB
Samples used in this song:
Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side
Lonnie Smith - Spinning Wheel (Drums)
Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band - Sunshower (Sound FX)
Baby Huey - Hard Times 0:11
1:12 idk y this part sounds like it was also in Lords of the underground’s “here come the lords”
K R
[Chorus: Q-Tip]
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Well, I'm gone (Go on then!)
[Verse 1: Q-Tip]
Can I kick it? To all the people who can Quest like A Tribe does
Before this, did you really know what live was?
Comprehend to the track, for it's why cuz
Gettin measures on the tip of the vibers
Rock and roll to the beat of the funk fuzz
Wipe your feet really good on the rhythm rug
If you feel the urge to freak, do the jitterbug
Come and spread your arms if you really need a hug
Afrocentric living is a big shrug
A life filled with fun that's what I love
A lower plateau is what we're above
If you diss us, we won't even think of
Will Nipper the doggy give a big shove?
This rhythm really fits like a snug glove
Like a box of positives it's a plus, love
As the Tribe flies high like a dove
(Can I kick it?)
[Chorus: Phife Dawg]
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)
Well, I'm gone (Go on then!)
[Verse 2: Phife Dawg]
Can I kick it? To my Tribe that flows in layers
Right now, Phife is a poem sayer
At times, I'm a studio conveyor
Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor?
You'll be doing us a really big favor
Boy this track really has a lot of flavor
When it comes to rhythms, Quest is your savior
Follow us for the funky behavior
Make a note on the rhythm we gave ya
Feel free, drop your pants, check your ha-ir
Do you like the garments that we wear?
I instruct you to be the obeyer
A rhythm recipe that you'll savor
Doesn't matter if you're minor or major
Yes, the Tribe of the game we're the player
As you inhale like a breath of fresh air
(Can I kick it?)
greenaum
I'm just here cos I like the song. And was talking about it earlier on when I bumped into a mate. We were talking about music. He had a (classic I think) Fred Perry top on, so we talked about The Specials and Ska and skinheads and stuff. Then Lou Reed, somehow, then this song. He didn't think Walk On The Wild Side was particularly about transvestite prostitutes. It's entirely about that. Each verse is a story of a transvestite prostitute doing gay sex for money. Nothing else but that. I hypothesise he hasn't heard the song enough to know that. Which is fine, but don't pretend you know stuff when you don't, it's not a competition, it's fine not to have heard every good tune.
But I liked this song when it came out, tho I was a kid. I listen to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest now and then cos I enjoy them. That's OK. It's a good reason. Yeah it's sad and annoying that people only listen to good music cos it was on an advert or film. Now, music labels do big-money deals to get their stuff on films cos it's a huge source of promotion, or on ads. It's sadly the only way to really get success.
I suppose most people aren't really music lovers much, so to sell big you have to get into their ears some other way. It's sad. Since MTV stopped playing music, that's another source of new songs to hear disappeared. Fuckers, what's wrong with them? Surely a band wouldn't charge much to have their video shown on MTV, in fact many would do it for free. The radio only play the same 4 songs over and over. Too corporatised, literally all the love and joy has been squeezed out in competition to make that little bit more money. Ultimately business pays the bills, and business is boring, soulless, and cunty. It's incompatible with art and real fun and happiness, literally incompatible. Every little niche has been optimised and monetised so now there's no space at all for culture to grow in. Movies get boringer and bigger budget and less imagination each year.
One good thing is the Internet has taken distribution costs down to zero for independent artists, but still artists need to eat. It's not good enough. Fucking greedy breadhead arseholes. Who put them in charge anyway? Why don't we talk the police round into joining us, and we could all rob the banks? The rich have too much shit and everyone else has too little. We outnumber them. So take it! Squat in the holiday homes of billionaires. Invade gated "communities", and fill them up with homeless people and people who have shitty bad housing. Investors are just good at playing money games, that benefits society none, but benefits them immensely. Why aren't the farmers and the miners and bakers paid well instead?
Anyway I'm here cos I like the song.
Dante García
this song makes me feel nostalgic of an era where i wasn't even alive in
Stephen Mcdermott
@MahdiRanger if I ever have kids they'll be into that kind of music because I don't plan on playin much else since I don't really like much else, honestly if I could choose a year I wanted to go back to I'd wanna go back to 1970 for sure so I don't miss out on so much
MahdiRanger
@Stephen Mcdermott That's wild because I was 16 in 2009 and listening to this song and Era wishing I also been alive for it. Crazy to think now there's 2 generations wishing they had been alive to see this. I wish I had seen quest during their time. But the 2000s I was there for, I can confirm you missed out on some good stuff
Pattifanalwayz
Yes you can
Count Loco
@Thurein Tun it's all good brother
Pagpapaitim
It was a great time to grow up
T
Can’t even explain how much I love a tribe called quest. Not one bad song
Rey Casiano
Word
FettyWapsMissingEye 🇮🇪
@Certain People they did, or at least I presume so after We got it from here with songs like we the people etc.
Certain People
@Alex that song is just messed up. Hope they got over that stuff